1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to handling configurations of radio resources in a mobile communication device, and more particularly, to apparatuses and methods for handling configurations of radio resources with system information in a mobile communication device configured in a connected mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical mobile communications environment, a User Equipment (UE), including a mobile telephone (also known as a cellular or a cell phone), a laptop computer with wireless communications capability, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) etc., may communicate voice and/or data signals with one or more service networks. The wireless communications between the UE and the service networks may be in compliance with various wireless technologies, such as the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology, Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA 2000) technology, Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, and others.
Take the LTE technology in compliance with the 3GPP TS 24.301 specification (referred to herein as the TS 24.301 specification) for example. An LTE system may broadcast system information, such as the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) ID of the LTE system, the parameters for controlling the cell selection and reselection procedure, and the configurations of the common radio resources, etc., for the UEs staying within the radio coverage of the LTE system. Specifically, the system information may be divided into a group of information blocks comprising a Master Information Block (MIB) and a plurality of System Information Blocks (SIBs), and is transmitted on the Broadcast CHannel (BCH). The MB contains a limited number of most essential and most frequently transmitted parameters that are needed to acquire other information blocks from the cell, and is transmitted on a Broadcast CHannel (BCH). SIBs may be further categorized into a plurality of types, including a System Information Block type 1 (SIB1), System Information Block type 2 (SIB2), and System Information Block type 3 (SIB3), etc., and each type of SIBs is used to carry a group of related system information. For example, a SIB1 contains the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) system information and UE timers and counters to be used in the idle mode and connected mode; a SIB2 contains the UTRAN Registration Area (URA) ID of the location where the UEs are at, and the configurations of the common radio resources; a SIB3 contains the parameters for controlling the cell selection and reselection procedure. Generally, for performing wireless transceiving to and from the LTE system, a UE configured in the idle mode is required to acquire the MIB, and SIB1 to SI8, and a UE configured in the connected mode is required to acquire the MIB, SIB 1, and SIB 8. In order to keep the system information up-to-date, a UE may need to re-acquire the system information when the last received system information expires or when notified by the service network that an update of the system information is required.